Newsletter
Quote: “In order to be wealthy, you must be healthy”
Yo-yo dieting is not going to take the weight off and keep it off! If you want to lose weight you need to change your lifestyle!
So, instead of listening to all the science/physiology mumbo jumbo, I interviewed a friend of mine who I became friends with years ago at the gym I used to work at. Her name is Tammy Schmidt and she has lost a total of 116 pounds and kept it off for 7 years and counting! She is truly a living inspiration and I feel honored that she was able to give me the time to talk about her success of weight loss.
JD-How much weight to date have you lost? Tammy-116 pounds – JD-How much were you at your heaviest? Tammy-246 pounds - I was always over weight growing up I weighed 160-170 and then in 1990 I got down to 128 pounds because I had a lot of stress and had to take on caring for my parents that were ill, trying to work and trying to finish high school. When I moved in with my husband(1991) which took me out of the stressful life that I was living I got to comfortable and I put on the weight and much more. It happened over 8 years until I reached my highest weight of 246.
JD-What type of diets did you try? Tammy- Slim fast (which gave me kidney stones from calcium over load).
JD -What was the ultimate motivating factor for losing the weight and keeping it off? I am sure you tried over the years many different approaches or ways? Tammy- Taking my daughter to her pre-school screening and having to sit in the tiny chair in the room and feeling like I was going to break the chair! I didn't want my daughter to have a FAT mom. The next day I signed up at Studio 21 (a fitness center) and have been exercising for 7 years.
JD-How often do you workout weekly, how long is each workout? Tammy-6 days week, 1 hour with 15 minute stretch after.
JD-How is your health today? Tammy- Excellent no health concerns at all!!!
JD-How was you health at your heaviest? Tammy- Heading for the grave yard early!! I had gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcers.
JD-I am a big believer in eating for life and not “dieting” per say because when we fall off the diet we have a tendency to gorge on what we could not eat so I believe in moderation but a eating lifestyle conducive to ones life. I am sure or hope you still eat your treats, how do you moderate them? Tammy- This question is a hard one to answer because being heavy and losing lots of weight I believe that I have the distorted body image that sees me as still 246 pounds. When I eat I eat just what my body needs. I had to give up all dairy products because I get kidney stones from calcium but giving up cheese pizza was my hardest thing to do and I know that I can't give in to that craving because I will be ill again. I can tell you that I have only gained 5 pounds here and there but take it back off since losing the weight so it should tell you that I pretty much do eat right.
JD-Is everyday easy for you? I have the daily fear of gaining all the weight that I worked very hard at losing through healthy eating and exercising back so I have become an exercise fanatic and love to challenge my body and see what changes I make to it. So I guess for me I can honestly say it is easy.
JD-I know you work as a health care nurse's aide as a career but on the side, I know you teach aerobic classes or have, how often do you do that? And what was the driving force for you to be involved in teaching fitness classes?
Tammy- kickboxing class once a week. My instructor saw how dedicated I was to taking classes and he saw my weight loss process happen and he felt that I should be up front instructing so he asked me to teach classes and I fell in love with it. JD-A lot of people know or at least have some knowledge of what has to be done in order to lose weight, like proper nutrition and regular exercise you said the driving force was you did not want your daughter to have a “FAT” mom. Was there anything else or in addition to that? Tammy-After that school moment that left me feeling embarrassed and not wanting to be a fat mom it made me realize just how big I had gotten it took that moment to give me the drive to lose weight. After joining the gym the next day I just loved all the compliments that members gave me as the weight was falling off and it just made me keep going and never wanting to turn back!! JD- If you had one thing to say to somebody wanting to lose those 5lbs or 120lbs as you have what would it be?
Tammy-Slow and steady wins the race!! I can only encourage and inspire people to lose weight it's up to them to be ready, be dedicated, do it right and never give up because it's a life long process... Most important just have FUN!!!!
JD-Thank you Tammy for taking the time to answer these questions, you truly are an inspiration to all in the health fitness industry. Tammy-Thank you for taking the time to ask me questions and allow me the opportunity to help others. You are helping me fill another dream of mine so THANK YOU!!!